portrait

Description :

Portrait of Amphileptus, a widely distributed haptorid ciliate with posterior drawn out to a tapered point and elongate anterior neck region. Prominent refractile trichites are clustered at the anterior end of the neck region. Right side longitudinal kineties converge on one another anteriorly and posteriorly in a diamond shaped pattern unlike the parallel kineties of the similar genus Litonotus. The mouth is slit-like and difficult to see, located on the convex aspect of the neck region. Two spherical macronuclei. Multiple contractile vacuoles along dorsal and ventral margins. Some species attach to and prey on stalked peritrich ciliates. From freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. Phase contrast.